Time Travel?
by Darkford
Summary: Colin spent his life with his mutually telepathic dog until his father catches up with him. Now Devan is telling him she's a time traveller, and suddenly she's dropped them in Inkopolis to get away from danger. Once Colin finds out what he's supposed doing in Inkopolis, he figures out his father might have been safer. Discontinued to write a prequel.
1. Chapter 1

"Devan." Colin said, looking down at his loyal dog. She was far more intelligent than most dogs, and he felt like she was his bestest friend in the world. Now, on his seventeenth birthday, she was talking to him.

 _Colin._ Her mental voice reached out and imprinted itself upon his mind, making her heard. Had it only been days ago, this mental force would have only been an echo of understanding, mostly emotions, to express an idea in a way similar to that of pictographs. Now, she was actually using the very skill he had tried to teach her, although it had mostly been for fun on his part.

It was a fall afternoon, and the two were walking home from the library. Red leaves danced in the trees, and Devan pranced among them happily, from place to place. He didn't bother leashing her any more; she was the kind of dog that knew not to leave your side. It seemed inhuman when she could speak, anyway.

 _I must go soon. As what I am._ She said sadly.

"Devan. You know I'd come with you if I could. I don't get what this whole 'being special' business is, but it doesn't change that you are my dog." Colin argued.

 _And you are my human,_ Devan replied, cracking a smile. Her smiles were something done with her eyes, and it glowed brighter than any toothy smile Colin had ever known.

"I don't care what you say, I'm coming with you." Colin continued. Devan frowned.

 _Is it just me, or are those people...?_

"Devan, we don't have time for games," Colin sighed, unaware that she had in fact been speaking truthfully. He felt a shadow linger and instinctively ran froward.

Devan ran with him, going into a dash, though the bewildered shadows were not deterred for long. They ran, too, and began catching up.

"Devan, I can't run forever, and neither can you," Colin said, panicking. "What do we do?"

 _The only thing I know I can,_ Devan replied, and her fur began to glow. Glancing back, they saw that these people were obviously malicious. It was clear that his father had finally caught up with him, after being locked up for what he did. Devan shot Colin one of those winning smiles of hers, though this one was crooked and sad. _Sorry, Colin._

And the world fell away.


	2. Chapter 2

Colin couldn't really think what to say. Suddenly, after being in his own town, walking down the pathway he did every day, some... people had attacked him, and Devan...

"Devan?" Colin called, trying to make sense of his disorientation. He could barely see, but he was at least glad that something blue and tan was above him. That was a good sign.

 _How do you feel, Colin?_ Devan's mental frame sent over. _I didn't expect so much disorientation from your first traversal. Welcome to the future, by the way._

Colin snapped himself awake.

"Future? Devan, tell me honestly now, what the heck are you hiding?"

 _I'm a time traveller. Duh._ She shook out her fur. _Well, actually, more like dimensional hopper, but that's pretty much the same thing._

"Okay, just explain where we went, and what we did." Colin rolled himself until he found a good enough grip to push himself up off the ground.

 _Well,_ Devan explained, _I took us out of our dimension. Y'know, other-worlds theory and all that, but a bit different. I basically fast-forwarded us in a speed-lane dimension entirely for the purpose of time-travel, and then I dropped us back in our own dimension so that we didn't die via whatever doesn't exist in other dimensions that you need to survive._

Colin blinked. "I understood about one word in four, but If I've got this straight, we're in the future."

 _Correct._ Devan swished a tail. _Now, if we don't find out who we landed on, she'll probably be hostile when she wakes up, so I suggest either help her or run for your life._

Colin sighed and got up, rubbing his eyes, and took a long look at what was in front of him. It looked... like an anthropomorphic squid. Like someone had taken a human and replaced their hair with tentacles, and used a sharpie to draw markings around their eyes.

"Devan, did anything about this whole time-travel thing make you think we'd run into a human-squid hybrid?" Colin asked, as he picked up the squid-human thing with relative ease.

 _Don't pick it up, you don't know where it's been. And no, time-travel does not involve telling you where you end up after it._

"That's a bit ironic, you being a dog and all."

 _Shut up and put her down._

Colin put the squid-human down, but decided to at least put her out of the way.

Never know when time-travelers will fall on your head, after all.

* * *

"So, what happens now?" Colin asked, stretching as they walked through a barren wasteland. "And do you have a backup plan if we become desperate for food or water?"

 _Well, actually..._ Devan said sheepishly, _Time travel has some... side-effects. Like permanent youth and dependant immortality._

"Say what?"

 _As long as you don't want to die, you won't,_ Devan said seriously. _Excluding if someone tries to kill you, of course, or any of the usual methods of death that are not natural. You're immune to poison, though!_

She shrugged. _And anyway, since our bodies are permanently in the state they were when we time travelled, you shouldn't get hungry or thirsty.  
_

Colin stared. "I don't know if I should think that's a blessing or a curse."

 _Assume the former, it pleases spirits,_ Devan replied promptly.

"Oh, and by the way, who's that guy over there?"

 _Who?_

They both looked at the rather peculiar being who was resting idly on a rock. He had a vague bipedal form, and he was obviously similar to humans, but he looked black and empty, like he was made of space.

"You nearly screwed it all up, you know," He said.

"Screwed up what?" Colin asked.

"We're trying to save this timeline, and you just had to go and break the leg of one of our agents." Colin assumed he would have had a frown if he could see the man's expression. "So we'll just have to have you two do it."

 _Say what?_ Devan asked, and out of all things, the space form jumped, though he floated back down to his rock with relative ease.

"Well, that was a surprise," He admitted, "But that just makes it better. You're hired, no buts, no refusals. You're rescuing this timeline, and a bunch of others too." He decided.

Colin and Devan glanced at each other.

"What were we planning on doing here again?" He asked her.

 _Let's just... help this guy,_ Devan said, dodging a bullet.

The Space-form looked satisfied, if space could look satisfied. "Good. I'm Adam, by the way. See the skyscraper over there? That's Inkopolis Tower, in Inkopolis. I need you to go there. We'll have an agent brief you on your mission when you get there." Suddenly, a case popped into existence, and he dropped it on Colin's head. "Go over there, and use this stuff to disguise yourself among the residents. They're all squid-human morphs." And, with a loud pop, he was gone.

Colin blinked, holding the case, and turned to Devan.

 _What did I get us into?_ She pre-empted him.

* * *

The case, conveniently, was designed to hold what he needed, and even had a mugshot of the kind of future-being he needed to imitate. After a few strokes of a sharpie and a well-disguised wig-like contraption which changed his head to match that of the inklings, and a pair of elf-ears, he looked just like the squid-morph, save his height.

 _What did that guy say these things were again?_ Devan asked as they set off for Inkopolis.

"Inklings," Colin supplied. "Apparently they had a war with the other human-cephalopod morph, Octolings-"

 _Guess who they're descended from,_ Devan commented, deadpan.

Colin shot her a friendly glare, "-and they shut them out underground. We have to find the modern inkling who was involved with the war, take her back in time, and make sure the war goes as planned, so that A) the Octolings don't win because for some reason Inklings are super lazy, and B) the Octolings don't revolt for another hundred years."

 _Just one hundred?_ Devan said, worried. _So you mean... what is this all for?_

Colin checked a booklet he found inside the case. "Uh, let's see... Octavio tries to take over Inkopolis... Inkling named Charron is recruited by our target... he goes and fixes stuff and locks Octavio into a Snow Globe permanently..."

Devan snickered. _At least they're imaginative about their prisons._

"Let's see... okay, first thing we need to do is find some girl-inkling who is part of this whole affair." He decided, closing the booklet. "Apparently she has something to do with this whole other thing, and it has to do with Charron being in the right place at the right time." He pointed at the tower in the distance, which was now much closer than it had been. "That's Inkopolis Tower." Devan nodded.

 _Hey,_ Devan said, " _he didn't say anything about skipping a bit of travel, did he?_

"Uh, no," Colin said. "Wait. What is this all-"

SCHEEE-CHAKACHAK!

* * *

"What in the Universe?" Colin said, just to be different. They were standing in a small park outside the City, barely a five minute walk from the tower, to boot. "What was that sound supposed to be?"

 _Quik-Travl,_ Devan replied smugly. _I can never decide what Time Travel should sound like, so that happens._

"Wait, so it just makes whatever sound you think it makes?" Colin said in disbelief.

 _Yes._

Colin decided he shouldn't ask any more questions about time travel. He got up, shook himself (making his new tentacle-like appendages shake wildly) and led the charge into town to find this girl.

* * *

"So... remind me what currency this town uses." He said, deadpan, as he looked around at the whole line of stores, which all seemed to have their own purpose. There were three stores all in a line for clothing, and a small two-story green building which had ivy growing up the walls. He stared in disbelief at the number of inklings in the plaza. He watched as periodic adverts and news reels showed on the huge television in front of the tower. Most of all, he stared at the commotion in the plaza.

"Who is he?"

"What's that animal he's got with him?"

"He's so tall..."

"He looks taller than Spyke."

"He gives me the heebie-jeebies..."

"Devan, what is this place?" he asked his canine companion.

She shrugged. _Inkopolis. You're not very good at being subtle._ She walked primly past a few gawkers, and Colin followed her closely, deciding that she might identify as convenient in this situation. A rather... well, a large cat was sitting on a pillow next to the tower. He quirked one eye open, then looked down at Devan. For a moment he lay stock-still, but it didn't last long.

Purr...(Are you, by any chance, a dog?) he asked.

 _Yes,_ Devan replied, clearly pleased. _My name is Devan, and this is my travelling companion, Colin._ She nodded respectfully to Colin, who did a short bow to show he was equally as polite.

Mrow, Meow?(Mine's Judd. Can I help you two?) He seemed mesmerized by the sight of a new four-legged.

 _Colin, the photo?_

Colin snapped out of his haze, grabbed the picture hastily from the suitcase, and showed the picture of the young inkling girl to Judd.

 _We are looking for this girl. She is in no trouble, I assure you, but we need to borrow her for something._

Judd considered.

Mrowmow. Meow.(Marissa? She is probably in Octo Valley, like most days. Either that or she's playing turf wars.)

"Turf wars?" Colin repeated. "Wait, don't answer that, I can probably figure it out." He flipped through the booklet and landed on an entire set of pages dedicated to the sport.

 _Thank you, Judd._ Devan said respectfully. _Where is this 'Octo Valley'?_

Mew. (Over there.) He pointed to a small sewer grate. Meow. (just hop in, it'll take you straight there.)

Devan dipped into a short bow, then motioned for Colin to follow. He walked along dubiously and at her suggestion hopped down the sewer grate. Surprisingly, by that point most Inklings had dissipated, and he went unnoticed.

Then, of course, he was too busy screaming as he went down an elaborate sewer slide.

* * *

The end of the slide, predictably, ended in a sewer grate which Colin hit and opened with his skull. He was dizzy for a few minutes, and between Devan's snickering and trying not to fall into the abyss below, he didn't even notice when a guy walked in on them, and a perfectly normal human at that.

"You the new guys?" the guy asked after a short period of time. Colin shook himself and reoriented.

 _I'm a girl, thank you very much,_ Devan retorted.

He looked surprised for a second, but seemed to dismiss the talking dog for a bit and went back to his notes. "So, let's see... briefly said, I'm just here to help you sort yourselves out. There's a girl near here named Marissa you need to talk to. I'll warn you, this assignment is a big one. One of you can time travel, right?"

Devan nodded primly, trying not to appear boastful.

"Great. Nice and inconspicuous." He smiled. "Also, do you two have any weapons?"

"Uh, no," Colin replied. "Why would we?"

"Just asking." He put two quick strokes onto his board. "There's an elderly man near here - Cap'n Cuttlefish - who ought to be able to sort that out. Oh, and by the way, you'll have to make them all believe you're an Inkling, so I suggest using that helmet in the suitcase." Colin immediately checked it was there, nodded seriously, and returned to attentiveness.

"That's it for now." The guy smiled. "Now for pleasantries. I'm Tim, and I take care of keeping timelines in check. Sort of a scout for the different teams we have around." He put away his notes. "Who are you two?"

"I'm Colin," Colin said after a bit of shock. He tried his best to dismiss the ridiculous situation.

 _My name is Devan,_ Devan 'pathed, looking perfectly and utterly bored.

"Nice to meet you both," He replied pleasantly. "I suggest you get acquainted with how things work here. Don't worry, it isn't much different from how most things work." He got a mischievous look. "Why don't I show you around? A lot of us travellers stop by here to have fun."

"If it isn't a bother," Colin decided.

* * *

"That super-tall building there is Inkopolis Tower," Tim said, pointing to a large iconic tower that reminded Colin strongly of Paris. "That large Eel-like thing is the Great Zapfish. She powers the entirety of Inkopolis through the tower."

"Is that humane?" Colin asked in concern as he stared at her blank expression. The Zapfish answered him, surprisingly, with a light chuckle that was more felt than heard. Colin gaped for a few seconds, then was pulled out of his shock by Devan, who he followed blindly through the plaza.

"That group of stores is known as Booyah Base," Tim continued, shooting Colin a sympathetic smile. "Clothes, mostly. And weapons, but only turf war fighters can buy those." He stopped, and Colin had to make a conscious effort not to run into him.

"Are you confused?" Tim said calmly. "It's no surprise. It happens to most people. Often you just have to wait a bit to understand." He grinned. "Don't worry if you don't know what people mean. Just say you're a country boy." He gave Colin a friendly punch on the shoulder, only enough to be felt. "As far as anyone knows, it's true, anyway." Colin smiled and took a moment to sort out his brain.

"Here," Tim said after a few minutes, handing Colin a Splat Charger. "You should at least play the sport that people play here."

"And what's that?" Colin asked, as he let his hand get a comfortable grip on the sniping-type gun.

"Ink Battles."


	3. Chapter 3

Colin was led away into the Tower's Base, and he was met with the sight of a place that looked like a cross between a casino and an arcade. Glowing neon lights lit up the black walls, and all over Inklings hung out, chatted, and typed in things on the machines. It wasn't until they started being pulled up into the ceiling that he started to get worried. He was glad that at least Devan was there on his shoulder to help him.

"Over here," Tim beckoned, waving. Colin stepped dubiously onto a mat in front of a small machine, and it immediately burst to life. Tim grabbed Colin's arm to make sure he stayed on the mat, and before long, a strange pulling sensation started up in his stomach, then moved on to his hands and feet, and finally his head.

"Tim, what is thi-"Colin began, but he never got to finish. The sensation suddenly burst, and with a short yelp from Devan, they were up and away, going through what Colin swore was cyberspace.

"Sorry!" Tim yelled as he held up a small water gun like weapon. "The system isn't very good at handling bones, or hamburgers!" Colin groaned and felt himself being thrown at the floor before he got up quickly and looked around.

He was surrounded by a small group of four, including Tim himself, and Devan was on his shoulder. He adjusted his grip on the sniping weapon, and decided on a spot to stand, where he figured he would be able to see anyone about to attack him.

A loud buzzer went off, and Colin immediately reacted, running like the wind to his decision. He stopped at a lookout point with a few boards and boxes for protection. He brought the scope to his eye and stared through.

 _Blue-headed youngster to your right, he looks like he has a bomb in his hand,_ Devan warned him. Colin heard a clang behind him and kicked backwards, sending something back behind him. A large explosion followed, and he felt stray drops of an alien liquid fall onto his back.

"Don't panic," Tim advised, going up next to Colin. "Inklings fight with ink. Too much in of another colour and they go back to base, simple as that. Try not to get hit, since it doesn't affect us we just have to pretend." Colin nodded and went back to his viewfinder, focusing on an inkling.

"So if I shoot this he just goes back to base n' stuff?" Colin asked, holding the trigger down.

"Sure does," Tim agreed. "Go ahead, try it." Colin decided it would be okay and let go of the trigger at just the right moment. In an instant a huge line of ink blasted out of the front and launched him bodily backwards, falling over.

"Careful there!" Tim chuckled. "C'mon, get up, you're fine." Colin shot a glare at Tim before pushing himself back on his feet. He glanced at a rather disgruntled Devan and smiled apologetically before turning back to his charger.

"So is the goal of the game to just shoot people or something?" Colin asked.

"Not quite," Tim admitted, "But that is your role. Shoot people with blue heads."

"Isn't that racist?"

"No, inklings can change the colour of their hair. It just identifies them as from the enemy team."

"Oh." Colin drew his charger to his eye again and shot someone down below, dealing with the backlash much better. "I see." He continued to shoot at people for a while, getting at least another three, before a buzzer went off. Devan hopped onto his shoulder, and the sickening pulling happened again, although this time he dealt with it more easily.

* * *

"I guess that was fun," Colin admitted as they stepped out of the Tower, "but it isn't worth the travel sickness, in my opinion." Tim laughed as Colin gripped his stomach comically in an effort to show how he felt about the whole ordeal.

 _I say we find that girl inkling you found that picture of,_ Devan commented idly. _I'd rather not dodge pyramid-shaped bombs again, thanks. Why are they pyramids, anyway?_

"Don't ask me, I think it has something to do with culture and the tower." Tim shrugged. "Adam got me caught up, you're looking for a girl named Marissa, right?"

"Yeah," Colin confirmed. "Take a look." He handed over the image of the naturally blonde inkling, wide blue eyes staring into whatever took the picture. Looking past the whole different-species thing, she was really rather pretty, if looking from a human's point of view.

"Oh, yeah, I've seen her around. She works down in Octo Valley for the Zapfish revival effort." Tim smiled. "She's a nice girl, really."

"Cool." Colin took back the picture. "I'm not sure I want to meet her yet, though. I barely even know what I'm doing."

"You don't?" Tim repeated. "No, of course you don't. Listen, there's this whole war thing you have to deal with... uh, here, this scroll should explain it." Tim handed Colin a very... traditional... scroll. Then he said, "Got to go, other people to help in other times. See You!" And with that, he ran off.

At first, Colin ran after him, turning a corner or two, but as he peeked down an alleyway he stopped short. It was a dead end, and only a strange guy with spiky purplish hair was there.

"You lookin' for Tim?" He asked, with a friendly tone and a rough accent. "He gone. Off to wherever he goes when he teleports like that."

"Wish I could do that," Colin muttered, before turning around and walking back to the plaza. He opened up the scroll, and Devan hopped onto his shoulder from a nearby bench.

 _So, what's up with this-_ Devan stopped. _No. Way._


	4. Chapter 4

This is the second of two chapters today.

* * *

The Scroll depicted a group of four, along with a familiar feline. Immediately recognizable was Judd's unique colouration, but as they looked at the image longer and longer it seemed more and more like the Inkling sitting on the ground was Colin.

 _That can't be, this is from one hundred years ago,_ Devan awed as they sat on a bench in a very sparsely populated part of town.

"Says the time traveler. Says here that this is... the only known photo of the Squidbeak Splatoon. Huh. Fought in Great Turf War... hey, is it just me, or does that guy there look like he's wearing a cap?"

 _Actually, now that you mention it, yes,_ Devan admitted. _In fact, doesn't that face kinda look like the right shape to be like Marissa's?_

"Well, I guess I know what we're doing now," Colin said thankfully. "Find Marissa, go back in time, sort out that war thing-ma-jig."

 _Easier said than done,_ Devan muttered telepathically. _But it shouldn't be too too hard to find her._

"Why's that?" Colin asked, legitimately interested.

 _Because she's over there._

* * *

Colin followed her back through the sewer passageway, not really sure how to approach her. He was careful this time to edge his way down instead of leaping down and sliding his way through, and he managed to follow her without making too much noise. She got to the end of the tunnel after a minute or two and she went into the shack there not long after.

He stood looking confused in the center of the platform for a while, until she inevitably came back.

"Who are you?" She said simply, not really sure what to think.

Marissa had yellow-gold tentacles that ran straight down to her hips, and bright electric blue eyes which struck Colin as being very unique. She held a small weapon in one hand and wore bright pink rubber gloves on her hands, as well as a bandana which she had wrapped around her head.

"I'm Colin," Colin replied immediately, without thinking much about it. Devan shrugged and stepped forward.

 _We're here to bring you to your destiny._ She said, making the girl's eyes go wide.

"I wouldn't believe you, but then again, I wouldn't believe a telepathic cat." She admitted.

 _I'm a dog, thank you very much,_ Devan grumbled.

"Uh, dog. Sorry, I've never met one before, and I just assumed that you were the same species as Judd." Marissa apologized. Devan took this in stride, deciding disdain was a good choice in this situation.

"Devan is special, don't take it too badly," Colin reassured her.

Marissa blinked. "Wait, what is all this about destiny? Is this a joke?"

"Not that I know of, but I haven't bothered to ask questions, which is a good start to not knowing," Colin replied readily. "All I'm sure of is that you're the inkling in this scroll, which means you're in the wrong timeline." Colin promptly showed her the scroll, and after a few moments Marissa's jaw began to vibrate ever so slightly.

"Isn't that... the Squidbeak... Splatoon?" she said nervously. "The heroes from the war and such? Because I know that I'm above-average with a weapon, but... it's not very believable. I mean, I live one hundred years after the fact..."

"Which is why you have time-travelers like us on your case," Colin finished for her.

"What?"

"Well, Devan here can time travel, and in all honesty I believe her because I've seen it firsthand. Also, it's kind of all in my notebook, and it hasn't been wrong yet." Colin decided not to mention that he'd only been there for a day.

"I guess I'm supposed to take that in stride," Marissa suggested sarcastically. "Who am I kidding?! This doesn't happen!"

"Apparently it does sometimes," Colin replied sheepishly. "Look, it wasn't my choice. I'm in as much of a dangerous situation as you are."

"And what if I accept?" Marissa said curiously.

 _I send you back one hundred years or so, you spend a year or two sorting out the war, and we go back to the exact moment we left better people._ Devan said sweetly.

"Oh."

"Hey, Devan, let me just ask something. Since we have to travel back anyway, it doesn't matter if she has some extra time to get used to the idea, right?" Colin inquired.

Devan considered. _It should be okay._

"Thank you," Marissa said honestly. "I think that'll help."

* * *

When Colin left, he looked up at the darkening sky and asked, "Where are we going to stay tonight?"

 _I dunno, maybe there's a nice place under the stars..._ Devan commented. _Oh, look. A Skatepark._

"Huh. So it is."

 _Dibs on the top of the slide._

* * *

A/N; Hi Hi! It's been a while!

So, what do you guys think? It's a bit crazy and stuff, but it'll calm down (very slightly) soon. I hope you enjoy the story!


	5. Chapter 5

When Colin woke up, he suddenly regretted the idea of a night below the stars. Devan had taken the liberty of taking his sweater out of his suitcase and sleeping inside it, and it was absolutely covered in static.

"Gosh-Darnit, Devan," Colin grumbled as Devan shook off the disorientation from being slid out of the sweater, "you've made it all static-y now. It'll tingle."

 _An improvement, in my opinion,_ Devan replied haughtily, stretching. _You humans and your clothes..._

"Hey, I don't have fur. What am I supposed to do?"

 _Right._ Devan said slowly, raising an eyebrow. _No matter. Let's go see Marissa, she's probably off waiting in Octo Valley._

* * *

By the time they got there Marissa hadn't arrived, so they took the spare time to inspect the shack nearby.

"What do you think it's for?" Colin asked as he fiddled with the doorknob. Devan wondered why she didn't tell him it turned the other way, but decided this was too funny.

 _Probably weapons. That's usually what these shacks are for._

"Good, we can borrow some." He finally twisted it the other way and opened it.

A few seconds later, he was mobbed by a group of small yellow fish-like creatures.

Then, of course, as was nature with the zapfish, they zapped him. For an inkling this would just be a pleasant tingle, but, well...

"AUGH!"

 _Colin?! What in the-?_ Devan growled at them in an attempt to shoo them away, and they promptly ran back into the shack. Colin couldn't do much, he was effectively too 'shocked' to move.

* * *

 _"That's a terrible joke, D."_

Quiet, you're breaking the fourth wall.

* * *

Colin recovered slowly, but luckily Devan had taken the liberty of going in the shack herself and found a pair of things which at first glance looked like crutches. They probably would have assumed as such if Marissa hadn't arrived at that very moment.

"Did you two wait here all night?" Marissa inquired with a bit of shock. "And why's he lying on the floor and twitching? Is he hurt?"

 _I think he'll be fine,_ Devan replied, poking him delicately with one paw and getting a moan for an answer, _and we slept in the skate-park._

"Oh good - wait, the skate-park isn't really any better, is it?" Marissa groaned. "Listen, I've decided to help you guys. I just needed to get my weapons this-morning, it took ages to convince Judd I wasn't trying to smuggle them to Octarians or something. You guys aren't Octarians, right?"

 _No,_ Devan said with a hint of distaste, _They don't sound particularly pleasant._

"They're the folks we fought - will fight? - in the great turf war. And now that I say that I have a feeling the tenses are going to be a nightmare." Marissa groaned.

 _I'll keep track._

* * *

Once Colin had recovered thoroughly, he got up and accepted the situation.

"Oh, so these are weapons?" He asked. "How do they work?"

"Like this." Marissa picked up one of the bamboo weapons and pulled back on the handle. then she let go, and a long line of ink went about three meters ahead of her.

"I'll be honest, I modified these," She admitted. "Normally they're supposed to need two hits to take out an enemy, but I modified the strength to be one. Plus I made the one you're holding recover ink very, very quickly. Almost instantly, actually. Don't even need to dip."

 _Dip?_

"Swim. In the ink. Like this." She ducked down, and as she did the yellow colour around her head-tentacles spread to her entire body, until she was a small yellow squid-like creature with large eyes. Then she jumped into the yellow, and she was barely even visible. She moved around a bit, little eddies of ink trailing behind ehr, and then she got up, her body reverting to normal.

"Didn't Colin tell you about this?"

Colin and Devan glanced at each other, hoping for the other to generate a witty reply. Marissa facepalmed.

"You two seem more unbelievable by the second. Now you're going to tell me that he can't swim."

"No, I can't." Colin shivered, recalling a childhood nightmare about drowning. "Never could, never will. No thanks."

"Great. A Squid that's scared of swimming." Marissa said, deadpan.

"Well, technically speaking-"

 _Don't prolong it, Colin, you're just making it worse. Remind me to give you swimming lessons when this is all over._ Devan shook her head. _Even I can swim, and I'm a dog._

"Devan, you're a time-travelling dog that can speak to hu- _inklings_ and you run around being witty and dropping me in alien worlds. With that on a résumé, I could get a job as the president of America."

 _Really? I never was one for politics, but-_

"No. I'm just trying to put your ridiculous situation into effect."

 _... let's just go to war._

AWEWWWO

* * *

"WHAT IN GREAT SQUID WAS THAT!?" Marissa squealed, grabbing Colin's shoulder. He lifted his hands form his ears and shot Devan a glare.

 _Time Travel. We are now about one-hundred-and-one years in the past._ She looked around. _And ironically, in Octo Valley._

"Time travel sounds like that?"

"It sounds like whatever she thinks it sounds like. Now we need to get out of here and find Cap'n Cuttlefish."

"Oh, right." Marissa grabbed her weapon from its holster. "Get the Bamboozlers ready, right."

"Oh, that's what this is called," Colin commented, grabbing his own. He pulled out the notebook and flipped to the newest page. It promptly filled itself with a map of the area.

"What's that? It looks useful," Marissa commented.

"A very adaptable notebook," Colin replied. "Exit's this way."

* * *

A few turns later, Colin turned a corner into something that looked a lot like Marissa with red tentacles. It promptly screeched at him.

"AGH!" Marissa shouted, pulling her weapon. The Octoling pulled her own weapon, a shooter of sorts, and Colin made for his own gun.

Devan sat to one side. She wasn't going to drag the attention towards her recently-groomed fur, after all.

It hissed in a foreign language and pointed the gun at Marissa.

 _Colin? That's a problem. I don't know about the spawn points around here._

"Right." Colin hunched, then leaped directly at the Octoling, into the shots from the gun. Each shot was a bit painful, but it was about the same as being hit by a pillow at high speed. In short, he could stomach it at the risk of clean clothes.

"COLIN!" Shoot. He forgot to explain this to Marissa.

Oh, well.

Colin twisted awkwardly and whacked the Octoling in the head with his Bamboozler. It promptly fell over and stopped moving.

"Is it dead?" He asked Devan.

 _Nah, just knocked it out. Which reminds me, we're headed that way._

"Colin, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Marissa cried.

"HUSH!" Colin hissed, and she promptly quieted. "Look, I'm fine. I'll explain later, but I'm perfectly ink-proof. The only thing that could kill me is a whack to the head." He smirked and walked off in the indicated direction.

And promptly hit a wall.

"Devan..."

 _You fell for it._

* * *

Stepping out into the sunlight, Colin briefly shielded his eyes as he looked out to the world of one hundred years ago.

Far in the distance, blue skies reigned, and green was all that could be discerned of the land ahead. What was around them was a large wasteland and barely a drop of water to be seen, as well as a huge machine which was simply lying in the wasteland. It looked new, however, so he promptly decided it was something akin to a tank and that it should probably be destroyed.

"The lost Octoweapon!" Marissa exclaimed, approaching it. "It was the destructive force that the members of the Squidbeak Splatoon destroyed before they joined Cap'n Cuttlefish!"

"Which means we need to destroy it." Colin nodded, going back into his suitcase. He dug through some things until he found what he needed.

"What are you doing with a load of collapsible buckets and a packet of cigarettes?"

"Quiet, just help me get the gas out of this thing." He got up with two buckets and began pouring the flammable liquid on the machine.

"Huh, so this is what they used to fuel stuff before Zapfish were discovered," Marissa awed, as she began to fill buckets and hand them to Colin. "Wonder why they stopped. Maybe because Zapfish are infinite?"

"Multiple reasons, including that, presumably," Colin commented, deciding not to dive into the rabbit hole of Zapfish. "But in a moment you'll see another. The fuel tank empty now?"

"Yeah," She said, handing him the last bucket.

He tossed it onto the machine, then approached the machine.

"I suggest you stand back, this could get dangerous." He lit the cigarette (while wondering briefly why they gave cigarettes to a teenager barely above sixteen) and threw it at the machine before running for cover.

"HURRY!"

Marissa ran.

A few seconds later the machine burst into flames.

* * *

"Devan, what are you doing?"

 _Getting the scorch marks out of my fur. I won't forget this._

"I guess I can see why they don't use it any more," Marissa commented faintly. "Please warn me next time we do something dangerous like that."

 _Oh, calm down. It's just a little fire._

"Says the dog who is frantically getting scorch marks out of her fur." Colin joked.

 _Quiet, you._

"Regardless of her predicament," Colin began with finality, "I believe that we have to find the other members of the Squidbeak Splatoon next. Can you pass me the notebook in the front pocket of that suitcase?" Marissa nodded and passed it to him, and he flipped to the list of objectives.

"Here we go. So, first is... this guy." He pointed at a still-forming image of a human-crab morph.

"He kind of looks like Sheldon," Marissa commented idly.

"Hold on, let me check the list of relatives," Colin said. He peered at the small writing until he found the name. "Yeah, Sheldon's his grandson, not born for another ninety years or so. Ammoses Shellendorf's only about sixteen at the moment... wow, that's younger than me."

"How old are you anyway?" Marissa asked.

"Seventeen-ish. I haven't been keeping track since I got here, that would be hard with all the time-travel. Which reminds me, Devan, if you're done with the whole scorch mark thing, can we exploit some Quik-Travl and get over there?" He pointed to the horizon of a small town, where the greenery just about started.

 _Sure._

"Oh, Marissa?" She gave him her attention. "Just a warning, Quik-Travl can be a bit disorienting. Just stick close."

VWOOOOOP

* * *

"Thanks for the warning, I think," Marissa said, wobbling a bit. "I liked that last sound for time travel a bit more than the last."

 _I'll consider it as permanent. Maybe._

"Thanks- wait, just maybe?"

 _It's too much fun making Colin fall on his face,_ Devan commented from where she was watching him pull himself up. _And making this predictable makes it hard to do that._

"Sometimes I wonder if my reactions are genuinely hilarious or if you're just sadistic."

 _I'd say the former, Marissa can't stop laughing._

* * *

A/N: Hey-o! Miss me?

I'm back with a new chapter! Let's see how long that lasts...

Remember, reviews are always appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

Colin checked his notebook again to make sure they were going in the right direction before putting it away in a more permanent location. They had walked through half of the city (which, in Devan's opinion, was barely a village) until they managed to get closer to the center.

"Why aren't we just teleporting there?" Marissa asked after about 20 minutes of walking.

"We don't really know exactly where we'll end up," Colin answered carefully. "It's a general-location thing."

 _He's right,_ Devan confirmed. _Honestly, it's also a bit tiring. I'm not exactly the strongest time-traveller out there._

"Oh," Marissa replied absently. "I see." She kept walking. Luckily for her, they didn't have far to go.

* * *

"So this is what Booyah Base looked like one hundred years ago..." Marissa mused as she stood in front of the stately home. "It looks... like it doesn't get much attention."

The old mansion-esque house had kelp growing up its walls, if that was any indication of what state it was in. The white cement-like material was merely a sad grey-brown now, mold at its edges, and the wood window-frames were rotting, leaving behind broken glass that had come loose from common weather.

"He should be in here," Colin explained. "See? Mad Scientist. Rotting old mansion in former site of..."

 _I think you're talking to thin air, here._

"What?" Colin looked up, and began to jog after Marissa, who was already walking into the building.

The door was weak enough that Marissa simply pushed it open, ignoring the lock. The two walked in and cautiously called out for their target.

"Hello!?" Colin called, hoping to direct his voice towards Shellendorf. "Anyone home?"

A faint voice came ringing from the basement. The three time-displaced heroes looked at each other before playing a brief game of Marco-Polo to find him.

"Oh, here's where you are," Colin said with relief as the Horseshoe crab came up the stairs. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing until they were all seated in the generally not-well-cared-for living room.

"What brings you here?" He asked seriously. "I swear this is my property, you know. I may only be sixteen, but it's still-"

"Were not here about that," Colin waved him off, causing the Horseshoe crab to sigh in relief.

"What is it, then?" He asked, wincing.

Colin checked his notebook, which Devan was already handing to him. "We're here... for destiny purposes. You're a weapon smith of sorts, right?"

"Yes," Ammoses said, eyebrow twitching. "But I'm afraid there's not much call for them around here. Not that that's a bad thing, but..." He shrugged. "I figured that since the Octarians have been around, there'd be reason to need them."

Colin sighed. "There will certainly be need of them soon."

"Say what?" Ammoses said, standing up. "Does that mean-"

"Calm down," Marissa said, putting a hand on the young teen's shoulder and pushing him back down gently. "Devan? You're good at explaining these things. Could you?"

 _Of course,_ Devan replied, causing Ammoses to jump and bite off something that wasn't meant for polite company. _If I may?_ Colin supported her as she leaped onto Colin's lap.

"Sweet mother of crabs, a talking animal," Ammoses said faintly.

 _Colin, the picture?_

"Sure." Colin dragged out the scroll again, putting it down on the table. Ammoses adjusted his glasses, but it wasn't long before they fell off as he froze in shock. He slowly looked up at the two teens (and one time-travelling dog) in front of him.

"How?" He asked weakly.

"Time travel, apparently." Colin replied. "Although I guess you'll know how by experience soon."

"You figured out Time Travel?" Ammoses repeated, barely believing his ears. "I would say it was rottertot, but... it's so unbelievable that there's no way it could be fake. If you get where I'm coming from..." He sat down heavily and buried a chin in one hand.

"I'll help you, but I don't know how much help I'll be." Ammoses decided. "My name is-"

 _Ammoses Shellendorf,_ Devan but in. _We know._

"Devan, you're going to freak him out," Colin said gently. "I'm Colin. Marissa over here is my friend, and one of the inklings in that photo. Now we just have to find Cap'n Cuttlefish and prepare."

"For what?" Ammoses asked, then he stopped. "Oh."

He stopped. "I guess... I'm ready to put my life on the line, if it's for Inkopolis." He looked like there was more to it than 'Inkopolis', but didn't say it.

"It's not that bad, actually," Colin said. "We're from after the war itself, so we know that you don't die in it. Perfectly safe. Kind of." He looked to Devan, who nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Shellendorf looked more positive at that. "I see. That's good."

"I suggest you make yourself a weapon or two," Marissa commented, after a glance at the notebook. "It would be silly to go into war without one."

"Yeah... you guys will need weapons too-"

"We have some already," Colin said, showing him his Bamboozler.

"That's..." Ammoses looked at a loss for words. "That's the fabled Cuttlefish brand one, right?" His voice shook.

"Yeah." Marissa replied. "It was the one in the picture." Ammoses glanced at it to confirm, then shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said. "It's just... there are only a few in existence..."

 _Dude. We come from the future. It's not like it's hard to get them in the future._

"Oh, really?" he said, interested. "That sounds nice."

"Actually..." Marissa began. She signalled to Colin, who listened closely.

"You think he got his inspiration for weapons from the future?" Marissa whispered.

"Dunno," Colin admitted. "Devan?"

 _Check the notebook. It would show you._

"Oh, right," Colin agreed, feeling foolish for a moment. "Oh. Yeah, you're right."

"What's this about?" Ammoses said.

 _It's about inventions,_ Devan explained. _In the future, you're pretty famous. Invented loads of weapons and stuff. Basically, we're discussing whether you got those ideas from a Bootstrap paradox,_ _which apparently you are, according to the magical time-travel notebook._

"Bootstrap paradox?"

"Something from nothing," Colin explained simply. "Go forward in time, get the idea, go back in time, invent it for your past self to find."

"Confused," Ammoses admitted after a moment. "But I'm sure I'll understand soon."

"Good, because I say we go forward in time and get those super-special unfinished masterpieces," Marissa suggested. "There are three weapons that have blueprints but were 'incomplete'. I think we should be able to complete them, or at least try."

"Sounds interesting," Ammoses admitted. "Let's do it."

 _To the future we go!_

VRRRRRRMMMMMCLUNK

* * *

"That sounded like one of those new-fangled cars when the engine falls out," Ammoses commented. "Does it always sound like that?"

"Not this again." Colin sighed. "She likes to be creative with the sounds. Just live with it." Ammoses nodded dubiously and got up.

"Where is this?" He asked, as Marissa and Colin got to their feet. Devan hadn't considered the consequences of teleporting out of a sofa, apparently.

"Blackbelly Skate Park," Marissa answered. "C'mon, it's not far to Inkopolis. Just... uh... here." She handed him a bandana, which he secured around his mouth. "Some of your relatives live here, and.. well. Time travel." Ammoses nodded, then followed them out of the Skate Park and into the Plaza.

* * *

"Whoa."

He couldn't stop staring. After a few moments, he said, "This... is Inkopolis?"

"Yeah," Marissa replied proudly. "It was founded off of your plot of land, actually. Right over there," She pointed to Booyah base. "See? Kelp is still growing up the sides." He squinted into the darkness and nodded.

"Why is it late at night, by the way?" He asked. "time travel-"

 _So that we can sneak into Ammo Knights without people knowing._ Devan explained, ruffling her fur. _We're exactly twenty-four hours before Marissa's birth, by the way. Just to prevent any paradoxes._

"So that's why Ammo Knights still doesn't have a second floor," Colin mused. "It must still be run by Sheldon's dad."

"Sheldon's who?" Ammoses repeated.

"Your grandson," Marissa answered. "Sheldon, is the one who runs Ammo Knights at the time I went back. He's pretty famous himself, since he's so young, but you were a bit more revered because of the whole Squidbeak Splatoon thing. Which is what we're doing." Ammoses nodded, trying to keep up.

"It all feels a bit surreal," he admitted. "Time travel and all that."

 _It'll wear off soon enough,_ Devan commented. _Did for me._

"Let's head for Ammo Knights," Colin announced. "Devan, any idea how to get in?"

 _The roof._

"What?" He looked over. "Oh, I see. Construction. How convenient."

* * *

Once they'd managed to climb the kelp up to the roof and jump in, the group of four, led by Colin, managed to get into the storage room. Sorting through, Colin managed to snag three of the bright-blue prints, and after that he nodded to Devan.

 _Where next?_

"Let me check," Colin said, opening the notebook again. The writing shivered for a moment and reoriented itself.

"Huh," Colin said. "Octo Valley, about... hold on... eighty-four years ago. About around the time the war had gone on for about six months."

 _I repeat what Marissa said about tenses. It hasn't happened to us yet._

"Don't remind me..." Marissa moaned. "I'm just glad it hasn't happened much yet."

 _Hey, if it does end up being like that, it'll most likely be in the past, right? So forget it._

"Devan... just stop."

 _Hmph. Be that way. See you eighty-four years ago._

BONK

* * *

Colin picked himself up off the hard ground and shook himself, before glancing about. He was behind a large tank, and after making sure Marissa and Ammoses were perfectly upright, he jumped up himself and turned to them.

"So... Devan? Where are we?"

 _In a battle. Jump!_

Colin jumped over a shot from a charger. After that, he pulled out his Bamboozler.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

Everyone got down.

"Okay, follow me," Colin ordered, recalling the many years of experience escaping from his own father. "First. This tank looks good for a takeover. Ammoses, Marissa and I will cover you. See if you can get in." Ammoses nodded seriously, adjusting his helmet, and the three ran forward, into good positions.

Charging his bamboozler, he pointed at the nearest Octarian and shot her into oblivion. He took a few shots to his side without much reaction and whacked a few people charging at him on the head with his weapon.

"I'm in!" Ammoses reported, grabbing Marissa's arm and pulling her in. "C'mon!" Colin ran over, breaking an oncoming bullet with his Bamboozler and jumping in himself.

"That was close," Ammoses gasped. "I didn't think I'd make it, but you took shots for me..."

"No problem, I'm immune." Colin explained. "Long story." He started inspecting the small tank.

"Guys?" Marissa said shakily. "I... think we have a problem over here." She promptly held a hand over her mouth and took a few steps back from the back room.

"What?" Colin moved in.

"Oh."

* * *

A/N: Welcome to the newest episode of 'I suck at finding a good place to end a chapter'! Today, Darkford gives you a big chapter with an ending that will make you wonder if I'll ever update again!

But honestly, I'm so sorry. I've been practically dead for a week, and it sucks. I had an inspiration drought and I managed to forget about an entire project over the course of one weekend. *sighs dramatically* ah well, better go write some more to make up for the chapter drought...


	7. Chapter 7

Marissa was right to gasp. In the back of the tank was a weary-looking Inkling who seemed about twenty-something. He wasn't moving, and Colin was vaguely glad he didn't know what a dead Inkling looked like yet, because he felt close to finding out. Carefully picking his way in next to the collapsed man, he knelt down and listened.

"Good, he's still breathing," he reported after a moment, getting up again. "Devan? Any chance you could check the notebook for me while I check for a heartbeat?"

 _Sure,_ Devan replied readily, _but just a word of warning, squids have three hearts. You should hear about double the beats than what you're trained for._

"Right." Colin began feeling around the Inkling's neck, and felt a doubled-up pulse, as Devan had warned. However, the beats were strong and slow.

"Wait, Colin, you didn't know about the three hearts-?" Marissa began.

"Are you sure you're qualified?" Ammoses added.

"Sure I am," Colin replied hotly. "Always have been. I just learned on something with only one heart, so adjustments have to be made." He got up and brushed off his hands, and as he did the man on the floor groaned audibly.

Marissa immediately forgot about questioning Colin's medical skills, instead going to kneel down next to the Inkling and watching him intensely.

His eyes opened slowly, then widened as he stared at her.

"Wha- what?" he stuttered. "I'm alive?" He stared at her. "Wait, no, I'm dead. You must be an angel or somethin'..."

Ammoses promptly burst into laughter as Colin began searching around the battlefield for potential danger.

"Hey!" She snapped, making Ammoses stop abruptly. Turning back to the Inkling, she said, "You're fine. Just knocked out, from the looks of it. Who are you?"

He got up and shook his head. "My name's..." he stopped. "Wait, one second..." He looked around, then abruptly tugged at Colin's fake tentacle.

Luckily for Colin, it was well-made and didn't fall off, but it pulled at his skin to stay on. In a split second he had pushed the Inkling to the ground and was holding him in a basic Karate position.

"Don't do that," Colin hissed. "You could get yourself into trouble." He let go, and the Inkling coughed for a second before shooting Colin a look.

"I don't know who you think you are," the Inkling said, rubbing his arm, "but anyone that's trained for war is trained to do that to check for spies." His eyes narrowed as he studied Colin closely.

Colin sighed. "Fine, sorry. I'm not military trained, so I didn't know. Just your regular guy trying to survive a war and save a couple of species is all."

The Inkling decided to take that as it was. "Sorry for pulling your tentacles, then. Wait, what?" He was looking at the driver's seat of the tank.

In it was a small brown dog, who turned around and winked at him.

"Holy Squid," the Inkling said, flabbergasted. "A... a... something is driving the tank!"

 _I'm a dog, thanks,_ Devan replied tartly. _Sit down and enjoy the ride._

He sat down.

"Sorry," Colin apologized as Devan started up the cannon and began lobbing ink at nearby Octolings. "She does that. I suggest to just assume that anything is possible when you're within a mile of Devan." the Inkling nodded dubiously and stared as his feet while breathing steadily.

"I never told you my name, did I?" He said after a moment. "I'm Cuttlefish, just a cadet at the moment. Officer Cuttlefish." Colin paused.

"Cuttlefish, you say?" he repeated.

"Yes?" Cuttlefish said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not particularly..." Colin murmured. "Tell me... do you know someone... no, nevermind. I'll figure it out for myself," Colin decided.

Cuttlefish sighed. "I wish this war never happened. So many friends are enemies now."

Marissa's eyes fell shut. Colin could only imagine what she was thinking.

She opened them and stared at him. "...Octavio... is he someone who you felt close to?"

Cuttlefish snapped up. he stared for a moment.

"I don't know where you heard that," Cuttlefish said, "But either you're some sort of genius or you're an Octoling. I'm tempted to think the latter, but for now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He glared at his feet. "I should have been smarter. I relied too much on that sc-" he began to utter slightly offensive words.

"Calm down," Colin urged him, putting one hand on the Inkling's shoulder. "Some people just never learn. I get it. But you either have to live with it or prevent it from getting out of hand."

Cuttlefish turned to him. "What would you know?" he groaned. "Octavio was like a brother to me. How would you feel if your own brother tried to kill you over one little piece of land?"

 _Colin's faced worse,_ Devan commented from the wheel. _I've stared death in the face multiple times. It's worth it, though._

"Thanks, Devan," Colin grinned. "But I don't know if what happened to me was any worse."

"Go on," Cuttlefish urged, now interested. "Do tell."

Colin took a deep breath.

* * *

"When I was younger, my family was very small already. I knew I had aunts and uncles and even siblings, because I saw them in pictures around my house. But as time went on, they began to disappear.

"So I searched for them. The little four-years-old me searched while my father was away, and I found them. Hidden, in the attic, destroyed nearly beyond recognition. I asked my father why they were destroyed, and that was when things went downhill.

"My father, you see, wasn't exactly very sane. Before I was even born he managed to convince people that my mother was a mad alcoholic, which prompted doctors to give me - her child - to my father, and prevent her from ever seeing me again.

"Then, of course, he got worse. Later I would learn of his murderous habits, if you could call it that, and I began fearing for my own life. That was around the time I needed someone to confide in. Before then, it was my father. There were no others.

"Then Devan came into my life. By sheer luck, I found her wandering the streets and took her in. I began to raise funds - just general kids stuff, selling newspapers and anything I could do that would generate money - and I managed to keep her.

"Then he started going after me, and the police got him. After that it was a matter of me not going the same way, just trying to hold on to my sanity. And, well, seventeenth birthday threw me into this, and I'm here. I may be in the middle of a war right now, but it's a whole lot better than being chased relentlessly by a murderous father who's out for your blood."

Cuttlefish stared.

"That's... goodness." He shook his head. "I don't think I can compare. I didn't have family from the start, but they died peacefully. To know that your family was murdered by your own guardian, one by one..." He shivered. "That's like a nightmare."

"May as well have been, in the past now!" Colin said exuberantly. "Gosh, it felt good to say all that. Devan may be a sympathetic ear, but... well, she lived it. This just feels less mutual. It's easier on the brain."

"I see," Cuttlefish said. "I understand. Yeah, you definitely had it worse than me."

Colin got up and stretched. "So, what do you say? Let's fight this war. We can at least help win the battle."

"Too late," Ammoses said from the front. "Look, there's the General of the forces signing over the land."

"Seriously?!" Colin rushed over to see the paper being handed over. "Darn it all!"

"There's no hope." Cuttlefish said, slumping over. "We'd have to win every battle after this one to win the war."

"Well, that's what we'll do then!" Marissa urged, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure we can do it!"

Cuttlefish looked at her like she was an alien.

"Are you mad?" he finally managed.

"Nope," Colin answered for her. "Just surprisingly well-informed about certain... events." He got up. "It's about time we told you about your destiny. C'mon, let's head back."

* * *

A/N: Are you ready for the real battle to begin?


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome back, soldier. I see you have some civilians with you... or are they prisoners?" A large, overbearing Inkling asked gruffly, checking a list.

"Civilians, presumably," Cuttlefish answered. "Don't worry, I checked them. They're fine. They'll spend the night in my bunker, it's empty anyway."

The gruff Inkling nodded approval. "Go ahead. Get rest, soldier, we head out in three days to protect the last hope for the Inklings." Cuttlefish saluted, and Colin dipped respectfully before following Cuttlefish inside towards a tent in the ragtag camp site.

"Over here," Cuttlefish motioned. "I swear if we manage to save the Inklings I'll owe you my life twice over."

 _Definitely,_ Devan agreed. _And someone owes me a tank. I want that tank._

"What is with you and overdone weapons?" Colin mused. "Never mind. I'll just be over here figuring out what we need to do next." He sat down on a bunk and began flipping through the notebook. Ammoses began climbing up to the top bunk, and Marissa did the same on the other, leaving the last bunk for Cuttlefish.

"So, Devan, is it?" Cuttlefish asked, as she hopped up onto the bed beside him. "Is there anything I ought to know?"

 _Yes,_ Devan replied. _Goodness, one who bothers to ask for once. Anyway, let me explain._ She ruffled her fur and sat down. _Get comfy, this might take a while._

Cuttlefish stretched and sat back in a very lazy position. "Go on."

 _Well,_ Devan began, yawning. _let's start with, Time travel. I am a time traveller, and Colin and I are trying to prevent anything from going wrong. For example, making sure the Squidbeak Splatoon is a thing, making sure that the right people are in the right place, etcetera._

"Time Travel?" he repeated. "Is that how you knew about my falling out with Octavio?"

 _Yes and no,_ Devan replied. _Colin and I time travelled to Marissa's time, and in her time you're relatively well-known._

"Oh." He paused. "What did I do to deserve fame?"

 _Oh, not much,_ Devan said, stretching and checking her claws delicately. _You only saved the Inklings from devastation. The usual._

"Not much?!" He repeated. "That's huge! Super important!"

Devan laughed. _Well, not much when you consider the fact that you know beforehand what you have to do._

Cuttlefish considered that.

"Tell me more."

 _Eager, are we? I suggest asking Marissa, she's the one who spent her life under the influence of your glory._

Cuttlefish responded by reaching up the rungs of the ladder on the bunk-bed and turning to Marissa.

"Hey, tell me about the future. About what role I play." He asked.

"Sure," Marissa agreed. "You're basically history, if that's anything to go by. While the Cuttlefish I knew was a whole lot older, you were still quite the character. So were your nieces. They're pop stars."

"Nieces?" Cuttlefish repeated. "So I have a family in the future?"

"I don't know of any others, I'm afraid," Marissa apologized. "But then again, Callie and Marie are hard to not know about, so it's quite possible that I simply never heard of them."

"What else can you tell me?" Cuttlefish inquired eagerly, supporting himself on the edges of the bunk. "About the Squidbeak Splatoon, and the war."

"Well, I haven't participated yet, so this is only history books and what others tell me," Marissa said slowly. "But it's said that the Squidbeak Splatoon were a group of soldiers, who managed to single-handedly take down entire armies. You - Cap'n Cuttlefish, as you're known by in the future - was the leader, and Colin, Ammoses and I are apparently the other members, who are mostly anonymous in the time I come from, since they all either disappeared or passed away before I was born." She shrugged.

"I guess I disappeared because I had to go back to the time I left, and Colin's time-whatever is probably so messed up by now that he's who-knows-where after that. Ammoses, I'm afraid, passed away not long before I was born. You were pretty much the one that was left. Not that you were too bad off for it, just had a minor obsession with Octarians and a longing for your nieces to visit more often. I spent my time doing part-time at Octo Valley, so there's that, but otherwise I don't know."

"I see," Cuttlefish said, considering. "So... we're going to take on armies together."

"When you say it like that, it sounds impossible, but super cool too," Marissa laughed. "Don't worry, we have some advantages. We can take breaks whenever we want thanks to Devan, so we have plenty of time, if that means anything."

"I never thought of that," Cuttlefish admitted.

"Hey, you three?" Colin called to the room. "Why don't we go through some formal introductions? Then I can tell you guys what we need to do next."

"Sounds good to me," Ammoses agreed, hopping down. He sat on the bunk next to Colin, and Marissa waved Cuttlefish down before climbing down herself.

"I guess I'll start," Ammoses decided. "I'm Ammoses Shellendorf, sixteen, and I make weapons for a living. I'm pretty good with any weapon as a result, but I generally prefer weapons that are stationary, like cannons."

Cuttlefish laughed. "I guess you're getting good business."

"Actually, I come from before the war, so no," Ammoses corrected. "I don't know if that's good or bad."

They considered that for a bit, until Colin cleared his throat.

"I'm Colin, Colin Cevers," he said. "I spend most of my time nowadays time-travelling to wherever with Devan. That's about it really. Oh, and I use chargers for the most part, and I'm immune to ink entirely." This garnered a lot of attention.

"Say what?" Cuttlefish said. "You're immune? How is that possible?"

"It's quite simple, really," Colin admitted, "But I'd like to hold back that information for a later date. For now, just assume that I am water-based, as in I dilute any ink that hits me." He shrugged. "Getting hit by an ink-bullet is about the same as getting hit by a pillow. At worst, it stings for about two seconds."

"That's..." Cuttlefish searched for words. "You could take on an entire army without a scratch!"

"Sounds like fun," Colin joked.

 _Ahem? Can I speak now?_

"Go ahead," Colin said sheepishly.

 _I'm Devan. I haven't got a last name. Hmm... I'm a time traveller, I've followed over thirty humans, but none for more than a few months. Colin I've stuck with for over half of my life, and I plan to keep it that way. I want a tank. Not much else I feel comfortable saying that comes to mind._

Everyone nodded at that description.

"Over thirty?" Colin repeated. "That's a lot."

 _I'm not proud of it,_ Devan admitted, _but after they found I was doing incredibly intelligent things, people got creeped out by me. After that, it was just one person after another either hoping to make money off a pure-breed or desperate to get me out of their house._

Silence reigned until Cuttlefish spoke up.

"I'm Cuttlefish. Sebastian Cuttlefish, although most just call me Sebi if they use my first name at all. I grew up in Teuthida Town and was about to move to Calamari County when the war started," Cuttlefish admitted. "My girlfriend is already there, but I haven't heard from her in a while."

"That's sad," Marissa commented. "I wish I could say I knew her in the future, but I don't."

"She's really pretty," Cuttlefish said absently. "Golden eyes and really pale skin. She was everything."

"Sounds like Gwen," Ammoses said. "I know I don't stand a chance with her, though."

"Don't give up," Cuttlefish advised. "You probably have a better chance than you think. Worked for me."

Devan hopped over to the notebook and chuckled.

"What is it, Devan?" Colin asked.

 _Nothing,_ She said suspiciously, pointing at the page. Colin peered at it before getting the same expression.

"Uh, I'm Marissa, Marissa O'Masters," Marissa said nervously. "I'm fifteen, not counting time travel, and I take care of the Zapfish in Octo Valley for a living. I'm ranked ninety-seventh best Turf War specialist in Inkopolis, and I'm close friends with the tenth-best, Jodie."

Cuttlefish let out a low whistle. "Ninety-seventh? That's impressive. Sounds like you worked hard for it."

"I only barely made it, there's only one hundred slots," Marissa replied modestly. "Jodie is better than me, definitely, and even though he only started recently Tory's not far behind. Mind you, he's had military training from the best of the best, so I can't argue."

"What are Zapfish?" Ammoses asked curiously. "They sound like they're more important than your average livestock."

"They're a nuisance and they make a habit out of electrocution," Colin muttered.

"They're a species of fish which we use to power Inkopolis," Marissa explained. "The Great Zapfish is the main power source of Inkopolis. Without it, we'd only have about three days of reserve power."

"Important," Ammoses decided. "That's very important."

"To be honest, I'm raising a group of them. One of them will be gifted to the Octarians still living in Octo Valley, so that they can rebuild their spheres and just plain survive," Marissa explained. "Octavio ruined a lot for them, so a group of Inklings decided to work on helping them rebuild themselves afterwards, if they proved their allegiance to the Inklings."

The two from before Marissa's time thought about that.

"It sounds... serendipitous," Ammoses commented. "To be able to help out the race which suffered from the war without any problems."

"There will be problems," Colin interrupted. "Octavio uprising, stuff like that. But from my sources some guy deals with that pretty easily."

"Huh," Cuttlefish said. "More heroes."

"You can view it that way," Colin decided, "but either way we need to go to sleep. Tomorrow, we're headed for Calamari County. After that we Quik-Travl our way to Teuthida town and pick up a screwdriver, and after that we go to battle with a killer robot. More details after I recharge." With that, Colin flopped onto the bed and fell asleep.

"Quik-Travl?" Cuttlefish repeated.

 _You'll find out,_ Devan said mischievously. _Go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow._


	9. Chapter 9

"I... What?" Cuttlefish said, blatantly confused, as they stood outside Calamari County.

It was nice, really. All tall grasses and swaying winds, and small-town houses.

 _That,_ Devan said with a paw over her mouth to stop her giggling, _is Quik-Travl._

"C'mon, let's not dawdle," Colin insisted. "We've got to go and check up on a few things." He began a gentle jog towards the small town.

"Uh, right!" Ammoses said, dashing after him. Cuttlefish and Marissa soon followed.

* * *

"So what are we supposed to be doing here?" Cuttlefish asked, walking alongside Colin.

"Finding your girlfriend," Colin replied, "but the book doesn't say anything more. Maybe it's a pleasant surprise?"

Cuttlefish read between the lines and promptly blushed furiously.

 _Colin, that wasn't exactly funny,_ Devan grumbled.

"What?" Colin said. "Was it supposed to be? I thought it was supposed to be a happy thing myself."

"Look, I think that's her," Marissa said, pointing at a harried - but beautiful - woman in a slightly long blue dress, speaking to a nearby officer.

"How do you know?" Ammoses asked.

"Uh, she..." Marissa refrained from explaining why she looked like the celebrities of her time, considering the result. It was hard, however, not to notice how the petite woman resembled Callie in every way. It was also in this moment that she realised how Cuttlefish looked like Marie.

The tall woman turned around quickly and froze. It was a picturesque moment that they saw, as her eyes widened and a smile grew on her face, before she threw herself bodily at Cuttlefish.

"Sebi... I missed you." She whispered, and Colin started laughing as Cuttlefish fell over and started struggling.

After about thirty seconds of enthusiasm, she finally separated and looked around. "Are these your friends from the war camp?" She seemed a bit grim.

"Yes," Cuttlefish confirmed. "Everyone, this is Cambria." She curtsied politely.

"No need for formalities, we're all friends here," Colin smiled. "I'm Colin, Colin Cevers, and the one inspecting the notebook next to me is Devan." Devan waved, which prompted Cambria's eyes to go wide.

"Oh, it's so sweet!" She announced exuberantly, lifting Devan bodily off the ground. At a moment's notice, Devan snapped her line of vision to glare at Cambria.

Clearly offended, she retorted, _Put me down!_

Cambria immediately let go, and Colin reached out to let Devan scramble onto his shoulder.

"Oh," she murmured. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're just so cute..." she let her voice fall into a whisper.

Colin felt gentle images, like those from before he taught Devan how to speak, pushing themselves into his head. They were briefly translated into 'I'm not cute, I'm a badass woman in a tank, dammit.'

"Um, I'm Marissa," Marissa began shyly, hoping to distract the group from Devan's grouchy mumbling.

"It is nice to meet you," Cambria said carefully. "and who are you?" she turned to face Ammoses.

"I am Ammoses Shellendorf," Ammoses said calmly, bowing slightly. "It's nice to meet you." Cambria seemed to take more nicely to him.

"Same here," she smiled, replying with a small curtsy. Then she turned to the group as whole. "So who leads you?"

"I'm not really sure about that," Colin admitted, "but if you want to ask who's who, then..." he looked around.

"Uh, Marissa's the fighter," Colin decided. "Y'know, go around splatting people. Action gal." Marissa grinned at this description, gripping her Bamboozler eagerly.

"Ammoses is a Jack-of-all-trades and is also a great weaponsmith," Colin continued. Ammoses rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Though I like stationary weapons more." he added.

"Cuttlefish, we're not quite sure yet, we only met a few days ago," Colin decided, hoping no-one pursued that line of inquiry, "and I'm sort of the wild card. Devan here could be called the leader, but then again, she hasn't exactly done much fighting."

 _Much too dangerous,_ Devan agreed. _Especially when you're trying to keep up a hairstyle._ She displayed this with a quick shake to show off her meticulously groomed fur. _I still haven't forgotten the burning incident, by the way, Colin._

"Darn," Colin laughed. "hoped you'd forgotten that. I guess I'm buying you something next time we get a chance."

 _A tank,_ Devan suggested eagerly. _I like tanks._

"So, she's your leader?" Cambria inquired.

 _I'd prefer a different term,_ Devan replied glibly. _Colin does the talking and I'm a bit more of a 'ride around in a tank' type of canine._

Cambria replied honestly. "And now, Sebi, how long will you be here for?" she asked hopefully.

Devan alerted Colin with a gentle tap and a quick mental discussion that they could not stay long, but that they could be back soon.

"We'll have to go soon, I'm afraid," Colin answered before Cuttlefish could say a word. "They needs us out there. But we should be able to come back soon enough."

Cambria took that in slowly. "Alright," she decided at last, squeezing Cuttlefish's hand. "but promise me you four will keep him safe."

"Of course!" Colin agreed readily, feeling glad he could promise it. "Don't worry for a moment."

Cambria looked worried, but she brightened a little.

Devan hopped onto her shoulder. _Don't worry. I swear it, he will be safe. You can trust me._

Colin decided to second it. "Devan's right. She's never been wrong, ever."

Cambria smiled angelically. "Alright. I believe you."

There was a sudden crash from not far away, and a series of screams prompted Devan to leap onto Colin's shoulder before the group dashed into action. Cambria reached out instinctively, but a nearby policeman stopped her.

* * *

"What happened here?!" Colin yelled, hoping someone would tell him.

From scattered voices he caught the words 'Octoling' and 'gun', which made him cringe and run faster.

Then he stopped.

Coughing, standing in the center of the plaza, was a young Octoling girl. On her belt was a shining Octoshot which reflected the sunlight, and she wore a tight bodysuit patched with haphazard metal plates. She was holding her arms protectively around her face, and as she stopped coughing she hissed quietly.

Marissa barely moved, but Ammoses and Cuttlefish immediately took position on either side of her, Cuttlefish with his Bamboozler aimed and Ammoses with a small suction bomb, ready to toss them around her.

"Wait!" she quivered, waving her arms frantically. "I- please don't hurt me!"

Colin took charge. "Shellendorf, Cuttlefish, stay at the ready. Devan, be ready for a Q-T if we need backup." Devan nodded, waving her tail, and Ammoses tensed visibly.

Colin walked up to her calmly. "State your name, age, and origin," he ordered, trying to sound older than he was.

"I'm Dahlia Octimos, Sir!" She announced, saluting. "I'm seventeen, and born in Octo Valley, in Occi Village!" She began hyperventilating, and Colin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, for one thing," Colin said. "Pass me the gun, and any other weapons you have on you. They're banned to anyone who isn't a resident soldier or policeman." She nodded quickly and put the gun, along with a small set of bomb-forms, in his hands.

"Devan?" Colin inquired, and she padded over. "Send this... uh, send it somewhere where she can't get to it without our help," he decided, and she laughed lightly before padding over. A small portion of her will exerted, and the weapons disappeared.

"Wha-" Dahlia covered her mouth, to stop herself, and Colin laughed.

"Feel free to be surprised." he said. "Everyone is." She breathed out and shivered.

"I'm sorry, sir!" she proclaimed. "I'm here to warn you about the great Octoweapons!"

There was a rush of murmurings, and she cowered visibly as people started staring at her.

"Hmm." Colin considered. "Stand there." he pointed next to him. He sent quick glances at his friends, and after a moment, he nodded to Devan.

 _Where to?_ She asked.

"How about Octo Valley, Marissa's spot?" Colin suggested.

 _Sure thing. But I still want that tank._

 _WAOHHHHH_

* * *

"What-" Dahlia stopped.

In front of her was a collapsed Octo Valley. Sparing trees were growing out of the sides of cliffs, and the small platforms that they were standing on hung out from the sewer passages like so many clouds in the sky.

"How?" she asked simply, gaping at Octo Valley.

Marissa walked over, seemingly feeling better after being put in her environment. "Don't panic, you're fine. This is Octo Valley - though probably not how you remember it."

"This is Octo Valley?!" Dahlia cried. "But when I left only a few hours ago-"

 _This is the future._ Devan elaborated. _About one hundred years after the war ends._

"So..." She tried desperately to wrap her head around the subject. "Things get better? What happens to the Inklings?"

"The Inklings win the war," Marissa began. "The Octolings are banished underground, and then in recent revelations Inklings try to integrate allied Octolings into society. It still isn't a popular idea, but it's widely accepted that Octolings should be given a chance."

Dahlia took a shaky breath.

"I... no, I have to tell you now, the Octolings are planning an ambush!" She cried, holding her hands in fists. "They're going to try and destroy Calamari County!"

Cuttlefish gasped.

"We know," Colin interrupted. "We're time travellers, for goodness sakes. But thank you regardless." He smirked. "Maybe you can help us win."

"I..." she didn't know what to say. For a moment she just stared.

"No, I have to help." She shook her head. "But can you help me find someone, afterwards?"

Colin considered. "Who are you looking for?"

"A man," she admitted. "called Onyx Cho. He's an Inkling who saved me in the most recent battle, and I-"

She stopped, blushed, and sighed.

"I want people to realise that Octolings and Inklings can live in peace. I guess that eventually happened." She looked out at the scenery again, taking it all in. "I'm glad I decided to help the Inklings. This is beautiful."

"I'm glad you think that," Marissa smiled, clearly pleased.

"Everyone?" Colin said, getting their attention. "We should probably rest somewhere for the night. Then we can head out in the morning to fight this war."

"Oh." Dahlia said faintly. "Oh no. They're probably already there! They're going to-" Marissa shushed her.

"Calm down!" she hissed. "Time travel, remember? We've got all the time we need."

"Oh," Dahlia said, again. "Oh, okay. I'll... just, uh, calm down now..."

"I know!" Marissa decided. "Colin, what do you say to camping out at Camp Triggerfish?"

"Camp Triggerfish?" Colin asked.

Marissa misinterpreted. "Yes! Camp Triggerfish! I'm sure Tamarin could set us up for the night!"

 _I think she means that A camp called Camp Triggerfish has a place we can stay,_ Devan explained.

"Oh, Okay, sure!" Colin agreed. "Marissa, some coordinates, please?"

"Uh," she said. "over that way?" she pointed off to a place near the coast.

 _Right. Everybody make sure you can keep your lunch._

"I didn't have-" Dahlia promptly shrieked as she was pulled into a hasty Quik-Travl.

* * *

" _Please_ Tell me if we do that again, more clearly," she gasped.

"Sure," Colin agreed. "I'm sorry that was so sudden, but Quik-Travl is quite time specific. We would have to be on time." Marissa was already headed for one of the smaller tents in the area.

"Wait," Dahlia said, "Where are we, actually?"

"Camp Triggerfish," Colin replied readily. "Honestly Marissa's the one to ask about that. I know about as much as you do about this place."

Dahlia, it was noted, did not seem comforted in the least.

 _This is why you never got a girlfriend, isn't it?_ Devan commented, from next to Colin.

"What?" he asked innocently.

 _Nothing,_ Devan replied slowly, opting to follow Marissa into the tent.

* * *

The inside was filled with medals, plaques, and other vaguely honorary objects engraved with seemingly endless lists of names and paragraphs of wordless praise. The only other notable thing in there was a green-tentacled inkling with a goofy grin plastered on her face, and a look of ageless youth but the air of one much older.

"So. I suppose you six are wanting to bunk here at Triggerfish overnight, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Colin replied, "if that's alright with you."

"Of course!" she grinned, laughter in her voice. "My name's Tamarin. Oh, let me guess..." she studied the five at the door carefully.

"So the Octoling must be miss Dahlia," she decided, nodding to herself. "And the young lady with the striking appearance must be miss Devan. Am I right?"

The two nodded, and Devan was notably proud.

"Hm." She studied the three others for a moment. "I expect the one I don't recognise is Colin."

"That's me," Colin replied.

"I might want to talk to you later," she decided. "And I bet the Horseshoe crab is Ammoses." She looked strangely sad.

"Yes," he announced shyly. "I'm Ammoses. Ammoses Shellendorf."

"Yes..." she said, stroking a chin. "Have you ever considered what it would be like if a weapon had an inward circuit to perpetuate ink, using a special output to control how much ink was used? It would be far more efficient."

Ammoses looked like he wanted to scream eureka.

"That's... Perfect!" he cried, a huge smile stretching over his face. "Thank you! I'll be sure to do something with that idea as soon as I get the chance!"

She smiled. "and the last one is quite the recognisable one. You're Cuttlefish, no?"

He nodded dubiously.

"It's nice to meet you," she said at last. "Please, make yourselves comfortable in the different tents. Just be sure to avoid the Firefly tent, Tory's staying there and I don't know how he'd affect the timeline if he saw you six."

"Of course," Colin agreed. "Everyone? Let's find a tent or two. One for each gender."

* * *

As Colin began to fall asleep, he felt a tingling on his back and the quiet sound of shoes on dirt. He got up instinctively and watched outside.

Dahlia was there, staring at the stars.

Colin walked up to her and plopped himself down next to her.

"What part do I play in all this?" she asked, after a moment.

Colin opened his notebook.

After a few seconds, he closed it. "a pretty big one."

"Will I survive?" she asked hurriedly.

"Yeah," Colin laughed. "We won't let you down."

She sighed in relief.

"Do you have something you want to ask me?" Colin inquired after a moment of her twiddling her fingers.

"Do you know if I ever... get to be with him?" she asked with deep concern. "With Onyx, I mean."

Colin grinned. "Ask the notebook." he passed it to her.

She opened it.

After a few seconds, it began to draw on itself, forming an image on the blank page, until she could see the image of a small child on the edge of an oddly black area. It was notably similar to Dahlia in many ways.

They were silent.

"Cecille," she murmured. "If that's my child... then, Cecille."

Colin smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure that things will work out."

"I sure hope so," Dahlia said, handing back the notebook with a shaky hand. "What do you think I'll have to do tomorrow?"

"Unplug the great Octoweapon, of course," Colin replied readily. "The Squidbeak Splatoon - the five of us - will distract the machine and protect the locals. Your job is to run around back to the plug and pull it out, rendering the Octoweapon helpless and therefore saving the inkling race."

"Heavy," she decided, "but doable. I'll do it."

Colin grinned and helped her up.

"C'mon," he said. "It's time we got some rest."

* * *

A/N: HA! You thought this fic was dead, didn't you?

Well, SURPRISE! I actually found time for once!

Not that it will last, with exams just around the corner. I'll have to be sparing on the updates for a bit.

Good luck on your exams, btw! Catcha all later!

(Who knows who Dahlia's kid is?)


	10. Chapter 10

Colin was feeling... mixed. While they were camping out on the top of a hill near the future site of Inkopolis, having Quik-Travl'd there, they were preparing for the surprise attack that was going to happen in a few hours. If he hadn't been a time traveller, he'd be absolutely terrified, and he still wasn't invincible - just partially immortal.

That was pretty cool, actually, although he assumed it got boring pretty quick.

What worried him wasn't really anything that warranted worrying about - it was just that, even though he could be confident that they wouldn't die, he could still feel that nervous queasy feeling that he expected any soldier would get.

"Hey, Colin," Cuttlefish said, walking up behind him. "You know any of the specifics about this?"

"Not much, to be honest," Colin admitted. "But it's said that they attacked very early in the morning, before any of the Inklings were awake enough to fight back. That's why we're camping out here - to counter the attack."

"Right," Cuttlefish nodded. Turning back, he called, "Ammoses! You got that Inkzooka under control?!"

"YEAH!" He shouted from a few hundred meters away. "JUST FINE, THANKS!" Just then, a huge explosion went off and the pillar of ink that came out launched itself into the distance. It also launched Ammoses a lot closer to the group of soldiers.

"Thank squid that wasn't pointed at the village," Cuttlefish muttered. Marissa lifted her hands from her ears and sighed.

"Tell me if that's about to happen," she requested.

"We were as much in the dark about that as you were!" Ammoses cried.

"Still," Marissa said firmly, shaking her head. "I don't want to hear something like that so suddenly again."

"Hey, Dahlia." Colin walked over and patted the young Octoling on the back. "How're you doin'?"

"Fine," she murmured. "I'm fine."

Colin sat down. "Y'know, it's okay if you're nervous. Everyone is."

"True," she admitted. "But... I'm no soldier. I'm just a young girl living in a strange underground world, fighting what I once thought was right."

"Maybe you should talk to Marissa," Colin suggested. "She's from the future, and I think she was rather friendly with some Octarians. She ought to know more than me about what results from this."

"Yeah," Dahlia decided, getting up. "I'll ask her. Thanks."

* * *

"Of course!" Marissa exclaimed excitedly. "Scout is just the cutest thing! She's always being super-shy and acting awkward, and she treats Tory - he's this new sensation in Inkopolis, and my childhood friend - like a god. It's so adorable!"

"Yeah?" Dahlia inquired. "Sounds nice. I'm glad... I'm glad I'm doing the right thing." She looked up at the sky wistfully. "I hope it means my friends will forgive me after this is all over."

"I'm sure they will," Marissa comforted her, laying a hand on Dahlia's shoulder. "The Octolings are a forgiving race, when they aren't under pressure to survive." she frowned. "Octavio's the exception."

"True," Dahlia laughed nervously. "Very, very true."

BANG!

"OHSHI-" Marissa bit off her words, leaping to her feet.

Just then, Devan popped out of nowhere and was about to fall when an _entire tank_ popped out of the same amount of nowhere and cushioned her fall.

" _Everyone in the tank!"_ She cried manically. " _We've got a future to uphold!"_

* * *

Thankfully, the tank was faster than it looked. Colin wasn't quite sure how Devan was driving, or where she had gotten Ammo, or how she managed to drive a tank while also co-ordinating and sending out Inkstrikes, but he couldn't complain.

As they got closer, he could see the Great Octo Weapon in more detail. There was only one, but the incredible size of it loomed over their task like a great shadow. In the early morning it blocked out the sun completely, Its cylindrical form eclipsing it entirely.

Colin did not recall this Octo Weapon, but he was definitely scared of it. Long metallic legs reached out and pulled the disk-shaped body forwards, magenta-purple lights occasionally flashing from it into the early morning. Its entire body was spiky and coated in a light, thin coat of ink, and it all came together to make something unbelievably terrifying.

"Forward!" He cried, as the five of them leaped out of the Tank and Devan kept going from within. "Cuttlefish, to the legs! Try and disable them! Marissa, sort out the main body! See if you can do any verifiable damage and distract it!" He leaped to dodge a strike from an ink-coated leg. "Ammoses! Do machiney stuff and protect the village!"

He nodded to Dahlia, who ran off into the shadow of the gigantic metal creature, hoping for the right moment to prevent the ultimate demise of the village.

It turned on him, and with a loud whirring noise, the top opened up. Inside was a familiar Octarian - in a humanoid form.

"HA!" He cried, grinning manically. "Cuttlefish come to stop me? I'll remix the lotta you!" He grabbed a pair of sword-like wasabi plants and pointed forward.

A few moments later Colin was literally drowned in ink, and it took a few seconds for it to flow off of him.

"What?" Octavio said plaintively, as villagers came out of their homes and screamed in horror. "How did you do that, you little punk?!"

"We are the Squidbeak Splatoon!" Cuttlefish called, trying to distract Octavio. "You may have abandoned my trust, Octavio, but my friends never will! It'll take a whole lot to defeat us five!"

Then Octavio took an Inkstrike to the face.

* * *

 _EXTERMINATE!_ Devan called out mechanically, before laughing manically and shooting off a barrage of Inkstrikes. Even as he went towards one of the nearest spidery legs, he watched as Ammoses hurriedly set up a launcher and attached a strangely familiar set of objects to it.

"Ink Arrows," he grinned, pulling back on what looked like a giant crossbow. "FIRE!"

The line of light green shots rang forth in a great horde and brought all the fury of hell onto two of the legs, piercing them and rendering them useless.

"Bingo!" Ammoses celebrated briefly, fist-pumping the air. "Second round on its way!"

Colin cringed as, much to their chagrin, the two legs slowly grew back.

"Focus on whichever part is closest to town!" Colin called, getting a confirmatory nod from Ammoses. He ran forth again and gripped one of the legs, before shimming upwards, occasionally pausing to hold on as he was shaken by the machine or to use his Bamboozler and test for weak points.

Colin leaped up onto the flat surface and glared at Octavio.

"Battle time!" He cried, arranging his Bambbozler and pointing it at his adversary.

"You think a silly gun like that can defeat me?" Octavio scoffed. "Why, that's-"

"-Not in my plan," Colin shrugged, tossing it. "But this is!"

He ran forth and punched him in the face.

"Ow?" Octavio squeaked, shrinking down to avoid the next hit. "That's gonna bruise, but... you're not getting anywhere."

"Exactly!" Colin replied, barely paying attention.

Octavio dodged and threw an array of Burst Bombs at him to test him again. "Exactly what?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Colin inquired, throwing another punch, then stomping down on the patch of ink where Octavio had shrunk to.

"YEOW!" Octavio cried, rushing backwards. "That was my tentacle! What DOES hurt you, gosh-tentacles?!"

Colin replied by kicking him.

Then he cringed as Octavio stumbled backwards and gripped himself awkwardly.

"GUARDS!" He screeched. "GET RID OF THIS INKY NUISANCE!"

"Well, shoot," Colin swore, as he picked up his Bamboozler and started swinging.

* * *

Marissa grinned fiercely as she felt her tentacles begin to glow. With a deep breath she swung from her grip on a leg and went forward with a Suction Bomb in her hand. It clung to the weaker underside of the machine, and she tossed them everywhere randomly, before jumping from one to another and escaping before they burst and threw her off.

She leaped down and rushed through the pile of ink from the explosions, attempting to shoot one of the legs to death again.

 _This is really fun when you know you won't die,_ she thought, smiling. _Time to get the real show on the road._

* * *

Cuttlefish groaned as he saw Colin take a hit to the stomach and ran forth once more, transporting people back from outside the village to the inside, in hopes of protecting them better.

He almost hit himself as a battalion of Octolings rose from the ground where the Octo Weapon had come from.

"Ammoses!" He called, getting the Crab's attention. "Aim your next group at that battalion that-a-way! I'm going in!"

"Good luck!" Ammoses called, hurrying to prepare the next barrage.

He dashed forward and leaped over a shot from a few of the lone Octolings who had Sniping weapons and threw a bomb forth, causing a stir in the crowded space and forcing the chargers to move. He dashed into the puddle of ink it created and stopped to drop a Killer Wail on the group.

It shot forth, splatting a large number of them, and he flashed through a line of ink he shot before spinning around and hitting a few of them in the face, quickly sending off shots to eliminate them with speed and precision.

He sapped up some more ink as Marissa dashed over and began picking off the most bothersome members of the group, and he sent out a splash wall. Standing directly under it, he recovered quickly and began shooting again before the Octolings could get to him.

 _Why did I ever agree to this?_ He thought plaintively as he saw Devan literally begin trying to run people over with a tank.

His life got weird fast.

* * *

Dahlia gripped herself and almost squeaked in terror when she saw the two inklings she'd befriended become surrounded. She was sure something horrible had already happened to Colin and she didn't want to think about it.

"Wait," she murmured, looking at the legs that held up the creature. "Why are they not...?"

She quickly realized what was happening. There was a wire at the bottom of each leg charging the Octo Weapon.

"Alright," she decided, getting up nervously. "Now or never."

She pulled her weapon, now filled with a light green ink, and took a deep, shaky breath before running forward.

"COWABUNGA!" She cried, placing a suction bomb securely onto the wire. It ticked for a few seconds before bursting the wire entirely.

"One down, unknown number to go," she muttered bitterly, before yelling like a ruffian and raising hell as she ran to each leg.

 _I won't let you down. Any of you._

* * *

Colin gasped for air and finally pushed the last of Octavio's guards off of the large Octo Weapon.

"You've done it now!" Octavio cried, balling his fists. "I'ma REMIX YOUR FACE, SQUID TRASH!"

"I'm not a squid, I'm an Axolotl," Colin said, throwing him off. "Take THIS!"

He punched Octavio in the face with his Bamboozler.

Then he fired it.

Octavio howled his displeasure and began to swipe at Colin with his Wasabi sticks, seething with rage and barely noticing as Colin slowly wore him down.

Pass, strike, swipe, stab. It was a constant whirlwind of these being thrown at Colin, and he knew he only had so much time.

He felt himself being pushed backwards, and in the panic he aimed upwards and pointed the Bamboozler at Octavio's face. Then, with a shaky pull of the trigger, he hopped backwards as Octavio moaned in pain and opened his eye.

It was now saturated the same bright green of Colin's ink.

"Well, I didn't expect that to happen," Colin admitted.

"AGH! YOU FREAKY TENTACLED-" He screamed, rushing forth with both wasabi sticks at the ready.

Colin automatically raised his weapon, and the shooting end of it was lodged into Octavio's other eye.

As green seeped into it, Colin realized that Octavio wasn't actually hurt at all; he was just so unbelievably angry that he howled in rage every time he made a silly mistake.

"YOU!" He screeched, pulling out the weapon and throwing it off the edge. "I'LL TURN YOU INTO A RADIO EDIT!"

"Gee, that's not nice," Colin said calmly.

Two weapons swiped down at him, and not quite sure how else to protect himself, he grabbed them both and ripped them from Octavio's hands. flipping them around, he pulled back before launching forward in a decisive, two-sword swipe.

Octavio blocked with his left tentacle, cringing as it actually pierced his tentacle, and retreated a few steps.

"You'll... I'll..." he tried to find a suitable insult for Colin the Axolotl.

Then, there was a loud bang, and the two of them went tumbling down the hole from whence the Great Octo Weapon came, deep into the earth.

For a brief moment, Colin thought, _The sun sure looks nice today._

Then he was underground, underneath a huge Octo Weapon, and he blacked out.

* * *

A/N: I need to finish this. It will eventually be finished. I've got inspiration now.

I'm going to act on it and actually finish this project.

Thank you for those of you who're still around after my extended absence. I promise that this will eventually be finished. Between exams and all the hectic-ness that has been happening since I haven't had a chance to write for this with enough dedication to finish it. But I promise that I will finish it. If not for me, then for anyone who still wants to hear the story I have to tell.


	11. Chapter 11

Colin blinked, feeling vaguely dizzy, and wondered briefly why he wasn't having to shield himself to the glare of the morning sunshine.

Then he realized he had something very warm and very brown on his face.

 _Awake? Darn. And your face is terribly comfortable, too..._ Devan grumbled.

"I canf bweef, Deffan..." Colin complained, pushing her away gently. Shaking himself, he waited to adjust to the lighting.

"Where the heck are we?" He said momentarily.

They were... somewhere? Dark and gloomy, the place appeared to be a cave made out of plated metals stuck together in an amateur manner, scattered around with the occasional screw holding it all as one great big tunnel. The...room they were in was large, and seemed to be dug upwards to the surface. The dirt around it was crumbling as they sat there, piles of it stuffed into corners in ever-growing piles.

With a stretch he got up and stared at the night sky.

"What happened?"

 _Well,_ Devan explained, shrugging expressively, _I scared them away with my tank... Octavio and what was left of his silly machine, that is. Tank's over there._

"Huh," Colin murmured, thinking it over. "I have an idea. What if we..."

* * *

 _Brilliant,_ Devan announced a short discussion later. _They'll be too weak to fight back on the surface this way. Then we can fight back in that final battle thing._

"Definitely," Colin grinned, consulting the notebook one last time. "C'mon, let's use the tank while we're at it. It's not like running over things has repercussions here. Much." He shrugged. "You get the wheel. I'll watch and learn."

* * *

They were lucky. The hallways were not exactly large, but they were big enough for the tank to comfortably chug along the underground passageways.

 _I hope we find those Octo Weapons,_ Devan grumbled. _I'm getting stir-crazy._

"We will," Colin assured her. "And if we don't, then an Octoling will see us and send them against us."

 _True enough,_ Devan decided. She turned right at a T junction and carefully made her way past a few turning points.

Just then, Colin pointed to a turning not far ahead and said, "Look, there. Is that light, or just my imagination?"

 _Let's check it out,_ Devan decided joyously. _I call dibs if it's a great Octo Weapon._

They turned the junction and were in awe.

* * *

The small village looked like it was straight out of a picture book, if you ignored the vaguely creepy pulsating images of Octopi plastered to the ceiling.

The houses were made of wood, and the roads were dirt at best, but the Octarian villagers seemed to make the best of what they had. Little lamp-posts flickered dangerously on and off, but mostly on, which lit their way. A few of the ones standing on the outskirts of the tiny village noticed them and began chatting amongst themselves over the new arrivals.

Devan decided with heavy heart, after a few minutes of riding up to the village, that they could leave the tank behind to give off a friendlier image. Colin promised her that they would come back for it soon enough before stepping carefully into the town proper.

There were a few stores here and there, but it really was just a small community that looked a bit hungry. He felt honestly bad for them, but as one of the older ones approached him, he turned his mind to more imminent matters.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She demanded, glaring unerringly at him.

Colin dipped into a short bow, hoping they knew what it meant. "My name is Colin. We were thrown down here after defeating a Great Octo Weapon - attacked friends of mine, you see," he explained. "I wish you no harm, and while I don't have much proof for that, I know exactly why this kind of caution is necessary."

She blinked, and with a resigned sigh, she replied, "Glad to hear that we aren't in danger. So, Colin. We have a... captive? No, that's not quite it. But there's an inkling here and he's sort of confused. Mind taking a look at him? If you help him out, we'll let you stick around for a bit if you need to."

Colin was impressed by the social air she pulled off. Were it not for the utterly fearful looks he was getting from the people around him he would have been glad to say that it was a perfectly friendly place.

He was lead away into one of the smaller, more common houses, and they took him down to a basement where he locked eyes with a particularly handsome inkling. Blue eyes matched against him in a staring contest while green tentacles shifted restlessly, and his bandaged arm twitched irritably while the rest of him lay still.

"Hey," Colin said, deciding to take the 'friendly stranger' route. "Who're you? I haven't seen you any where before."

He blinked, and shifting uncomfortably, he replied. "'m Onyx... Onyx Cho."

Colin put two and two together. "Oh, that guy Dahlia was talking about! Yeah, now I know you. So, what're you doing down here?"

"I damaged my tentacle," He admitted, "trying to stop her from suicide. Which I couldn't do. So now she's probably being executed or something 'cause of this stupid, _stupid_ war."

"Right, not what happened," Colin said, grinning like a loon. "The Squidbeak Splatoon don't take kindly to murdering innocents, and trust me, if I know something it's that Cuttlefish and the others wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on her." he shrugged. "How did you think I know Dahlia?"

"Well, uh," Onyx began. "Let's uh just kind of forget that. I might have sort of forgot."

"Right," Colin grinned. "Forgotten. Dahlia's on the surface with good friends of mine, so we should be good." He paused. "I hope they don't panic without me. I'm sort of a trump card to end the war."

Onyx let silence reign for a good time before he finally spoke again. "You said you were... a trump card?"

"Yep!" Colin agreed. "Although Devan's a whole lot cooler than I am."

 _Thank you,_ She said proudly, thriving in the compliment.

"What."

Onyx Cho paused, became confused, and decided to go to sleep before there were any more surprises.

* * *

Apparently 'talking animals' was not in Onyx's vocabulary by any stretch of the imagination - not until he met Devan, anyway.

Devan had already left to explore the village, and now Colin was left with Onyx and a few concerned Octolings watching the two.

"What... oh." Onyx muttered, gripping his forehead and flopping forwards. "Ugh. Please tell me that was all a dream."

"I'm sorry," Colin apologized, "but if it helps, Devan is away at the moment. It's just me now."

With a tired stretch, Onyx hopped out of the bed and sat down again a few paces away.

"Explain," he demanded, pointing at Colin. "What. Is. Happening."

Colin shifted and began to explain. "We're some mercenaries of sorts that were hired to help end the war. Basically, Devan and I came down here to disable the Great Octo Weapons and reduce the... well. The whole kill-everything vibe we were getting from Octavio. It's kind of obvious that isn't shared by the population now," Colin stated, "but I may as well disable the Great Octo Weapons while I'm here anyway."

"So you'll be headed to the surface?" Onyx inquired hopefully.

Colin blinked. "Yeah, eventually. You want a ride up?"

"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble," Onyx admitted. "If what you say is true, then Dahlia is up there, and..." he trailed off, a gentle blush forming on his cheeks.

"We'll get you to the tank," Colin decided. "Then we'll find a way out of here and get you back to the surface. Cool?"

"Cool with me," Onyx agreed, getting up and stretching. "I was getting kind of bored, to be honest."

The two of them left the building with a trail of concerned Octolings behind them, and not long after Colin saw Devan in the distance.

"Oh, there she is," Colin commented, waving at her. He paused when she didn't reply, but soon he knew why.

 _TAKE COVER!_ She yelled, panting heavily. _TO THE TANK, BEFORE IT GETS US!_

She blipped into existence next to them and kept running, and Colin knew better than to wait to see what was chasing her. He grabbed Onyx's hand and dragged him into the tank, as the three of them took refuge in the back and Devan hopped onto the seat and began punching controls.

"What did you DO, Devan?!" Colin yelled as he pushed Onyx into a seat at the back of the tank.

 _I kind of sort of found Octavio's personal minions?_ Devan cried back, revving the engine as an ominous rumble was emitted from the ground. _Gosh-darnit all, start, you silly tank, start!_

Colin face-palmed, before looking behind him. Then, with a sudden jolt, they began to fall.

"Can't you Quik-Travl us out of here?!" Colin screeched.

 _No! Too many things, plus we're moving stupid fast! Hope to the sky that there's an end to this pit-thing!_

There was a bang, a sort of floaty moment, and then they hit reality like a pile of bricks.

They heard the whizzing of the hole closing behind them as they observed the room. It was rather large, and it was perfectly spherical, unlike the others. What bothered Colin was what was in the center.

"Well," he said, sighing theatrically. "We are royally screwed."

* * *

A/N: CLIFFHANGERS! (This will be updated, I promise, just have a few other things to work on.)


	12. Chapter 12

The machine that was in the room with them reminded Colin of some sort of sick imitation of a hamster, if a hamster had a huge shield for a face and an increasingly dangerous-looking number of spikes the closer to its behind you went. There were, put simply, too many spikes for him to feel at all comfortable about this.

Devan revved up the tank once more, relief spiking through his mental image as she started moving, and Colin endeavoured to help Onyx to his feet.

"What is that?!" He asked fearfully. "Is that the great Octo Weapon?"

"Probably," Colin shrugged. "Devan? How are we going to... y'know... not die?"

Devan was clearly not thinking straight. _For once, Colin, I have no bloody idea. Check the gosh-darn notebook and please, please tell me that thing has some rational ideas._

Colin reached into his pocket and grabbed the small notebook, flipping to a blank page. As ink began to flow over the empty page, he looked up to see that the large machine was... doing something. He was quite honestly confused as to why it was going in circles like that, but a few moments later it paused, turned towards them, and rocketed towards them at incredible speeds.

"DEVAN!" Colin yelled, "Towards the ceiling, then push off!"

For a brief moment fear was on Devan's face, but the moment Colin said that it was replaced by a daredevil grin. _AWAY WE GO!_

They went as far as they could go up the side of the sphere, the monstrous machine gaining on them. As it neared them, Colin cried, "Push off!"

They launched themselves off the side and landed behind the machine as it made a trip to the roof. It somehow managed to cling so tightly to the ceiling that it stayed there, and it made a rather speedy descent.

 _What NOW!?_ Devan cried, glancing over the controls in panic.

"Oh, just give it to me," Colin muttered, grabbing the wheel and slamming his foot down on the acceleration. Pulling a hard left, he spun in a circle and turned the game of Cat-and-mouse around, chasing after the machine.

"We just need to hit something vulnerable!" Colin grinned. "Devan! Check the notebook or something! Onyx, grab the nearest weapon you find and use if when you get the chance. There's a protected pit area for shooting up there somewhere." He swerved and managed to go alongside the machine for a bit, allowing for Onyx to climb up to the roof pit and apply himself.

* * *

The glass-esque walling didn't look particularly safe, but if it was a military-grade tank, then Onyx presumed it was safe. He was proven right as they did a midair flop, hit the ground glass-first, and barely made a noise. He breathed in deeply and aimed.

The next time the abomination came past them he adjusted the sight on his Splat Charger, a relatively new weapon, and managed to hit the tail in passing. It got caught on a bit of spikes, but otherwise it worked well, and the machine shivered and began moving less regularly.

"DID YOU HIT IT?!" Colin called from below.

"YEAH!" Onyx replied. "I think the tail's the weak point!"

 _I'll see if I can get us closer to it then!_ Devan 'pathed, and as he recovered his ink he heard her hop onto the driver's seat once more.

* * *

Using a risky flip to manoeuvre, Onyx managed to get a second hit in on the machine's behind, although it was less effective than they would have liked. The monstrous creation shivered violently, its course becoming more complicated, and Colin grabbed the wheel once more and managed to save them from being crushed right away.

"Hey, Devan?" Colin inquired, turning the wheel violently left. "Any of those future-powers of yours have any idea how good or suicidal the idea of going out there and clinging onto its back would be?"

 _That's not how time travel works,_ Devan grumbled. _but I do know that that machine is finding it harder to move in a straight line. We need it to get to that hole up there._ She flicked a tail irritably. _What else is there to do but shoot from in here?_

"Shoot missiles from in here?" Colin suggested, briefly forgetting who he was talking to.

The Cheshire cat grin was a good name for what he was seeing on Devan's face. He wouldn't be surprised if she proclaimed she was from Wonderland at this point.

* * *

Onyx felt odd. He was watching as homing missiles came magically from the tank and started wailing on the machine, striking it repeatedly, and for a moment he hoped naively that it was over. Instead, it spun a few times, realigned itself, and began to rush at them as quickly and precisely as a drunken sailor on steroids.

"Well SHOOT!" Colin cried, pulling even more ridiculous stunts just to try not to get wrecked by the rampaging machine.

Then, of course, missiles happened.

"WHY THE HECK DOES THIS THING HAVE MISSILES?!"

* * *

Onyx would count himself off as stupidly lucky. He took a deep breath and took aim at the machine, hoping this would be all it needed.

There was the familiar click of the weapon as it filled. The inky smell that filled the chamber. The very pounding in his chest as he took aim.

And he let go of the trigger.

BOOM!

Something exploded nearby. He wasn't sure, he was too busy being tossed about, the sheer shock and the remnants of the explosion pushing their tank backwards. They rolled slowly down the hill, to fall into place next to the silent creature, and as the adrenaline wore off he sat down and began to shake uncontrollably.

"Hey, you okay?" Colin inquired, reaching out and pulling him up. "Good job. That was great!"

He smiled briefly and laughed as Devan desperately cleaned herself, muttering something about 'ashes' and 'matting in her fur'.

"What next?" He asked, sounding a lot calmer than he felt.

Just then, some extra light filtered in, and they found that it was above them.

* * *

"Yo!" Colin called up to the remaining number of the Squidbeak Splatoon.

"Hey, Bucko!" Cuttlefish called back. "Glad to see you didn't kick the Bucket!"

"Not planning on it!" Colin replied readily. "Any plans for getting us out of this pit?"

A rope - a very long rope - fell down as an answer.

"C'mon, Onyx," Colin gestured. "We've got to get out of here. I'm sure Devan can Quik-Travl her way up."

"Right," Onyx agreed, grabbing the rope. He gripped it tightly as Colin grabbed a lower point, and Devan clawed her way up onto Colin's shoulder. The Squidbeak Splatoon began to pull up their friends, until finally they were all out of the sphere.

"Geez, that was stupid," Colin wheezed, letting Devan off his shoulder. "That machine was definitely out to kill us."

"What did it look like?" Marissa inquired, Ammoses not far behind.

"Huh. Uh, like Ammoses' hat." Colin said simply. "With extra spikes."

"Look, we need to get a move on," Marissa decided. "what's the plan?"

 _Destroy some Octo Weapons and then go kick some Octavio butt?_ Devan suggested.

The two girls grinned.

"Sounds good to me," Marissa grinned, reaching almost instinctively for her bamboozler. "I won't let you two have all the fun."

"Why don't we go into groups?" Colin suggested. "I'll take Onyx to the surface first, of course, but we could split into groups of two and search for Octo Weapons. Sound good to you?"

There was a general agreement that it was a good idea, at least. Colin looked around and smiled.

"Right. Meet-up point is this village. Devan, Marissa, you two head off and go ddownwards, which direction down doesn't matter as long as you can get back."

The two of them grinned, and Colin briefly had sympathy for whatever got in their way.

"Ammoses and Cuttlefish, you two head in a radius fashion, see if you can find anything and report back."

The two of them saluted.

"Onyx?" Colin gestured to the said inkling. "I'm taking you back to the surface. If anything, that's where Dahlia is." He turned back. "Which reminds me - where's Dahlia?"

"Relaxing at the town she showed up in," Marissa replied. "The one where she fought off that giant disc-thingy."

"Right."

They all had a silent agreement on the plan before they all shot off in different directions.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter is short. *Sighs in relief* I was worried, but I think that considering it was difficult, that sorted itself out pretty well.

See you later folks!


	13. Important Message

To those still watching this story;

No, I'm not going to update it. Yet.

Am I going to continue it? Hell yes.

In this specific story? No.

To put it simply, I can't get the drive and inspiration I need to write a quality story. Most of my stories have rocky starts, but this one was the rockiest, and I set myself up for failure. So here's what's going to happen;

I'm going to leave this story up. It's not going away, and probably never will. I'm going to start from scratch and rewrite the story so that it isn't a jumbled mess of confusion, puppies, and time travel. It's going to turn into a story about a confused time travelling puppy.

So for now, I say goodbye; but it isn't forever. I'll be back. When I am back, I hope to deliver quality work instead of what this became - a hopeful dream of a great story that just wasn't told right.


	14. Last Update (probably)

Hello again.

So I've decided that I'm going to write a full backstory for the two main characters of this story. You can reach it via my profile as a story called 'Devan' if you're interested in reading it.

Just a quick note for those who still want to read it.


End file.
